Imtiaz Sipra, an eminent sports writer and illustrious Sports Editor of a national daily newspaper, left for his eternal abode on Wednesday morning. After covering Pakistan's Test series in England, he had just returned from his last trip to the cricket world. The crisp and spicy reviews and articles he wrote for CricInfo are still fresh on our pages.

For his sterling qualities of both head and heart he commanded enormous respect in the country's cricket circles. In many ways he was different from other sports journalists and writers. He used to give more credence to his personal analysis of a situation rather than being a 'yes man'. Being a man of courage, he never hesitated to disagree even with the 'big bosses'. Despite at times offering sarcastically sweet remarks on various issues, he was a lovable person.

It is generally said that to know a person, one must either live with him or travel with him. I left the Pakistan Cricket Board in early 1987 after making all the preparations for staging of the forthcoming World Cup. Imtiaz Sipra was called in to hold an administrative appointment for the event. With his cheerful and ever-smiling countenance he was instrumental in keeping the tension at bay for all the Board's staff. With his infectious laughter and humorous recitation of stories and anecdotes he won the hearts of everyone who knew him.

We had a chance to travel on the same flight to Calcutta for the World Cup finals. The change of flight at New Delhi entailed a stay of many hours in the airport lounge. This way we spent almost the whole day travelling together. There were many other people connected with cricket in the plane but it was Sipra who was seen and heard the most. His laughter travelled from one end to the other. Staying in the same hotel and discussing cricket brought us much closer together. Living with him for a few days in a foreign land was a wonderful experience.

With full command of 'The Queen's English', Sipra had a style of his own. He often used a few paragraphs, and at times half the article to hit the subject, but it was a pleasure to read his lengthy introductions written in beautifully idiomatic English and to learn from them.

To adorn parts of the CricInfo pages and to project his constructive-cum-illuminating views on various cricket matters on the internet, we invited him to write for us, an offer which he was very pleased to accept. The articles that he contributed were widely read and highly admired by cricket lovers. They had in fact added a new dimension to the Pakistani cricket cyber world.

With a captivating smile jutting out of his grey moustache, Imtiaz Sipra swayed people around him with glee. The ocean of knowledge about all conceivable subjects that he possessed was a treasure that he generously distributed to the people who kept his company. His untimely death has created a vacuum in our sports journalism that will not be easy to fill. May God Almighty bless his soul and provide his family and friends the requisite strength to bear the loss.

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